College roundup: Golden Eagles shut out Thunderbirds

Oral Roberts starter Kurt Giller took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before tossing a complete game shutout to help the visiting Golden Eagles take a 6-0 win over SUU at Thunderbird Park on Thursday.

CEDAR CITY — Oral Roberts starter Kurt Giller took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before tossing a complete game shutout to help the visiting Golden Eagles take a 6-0 win over SUU at Thunderbird Park on Thursday. The SUU defense turned in a solid performance behind a strong outing by starting pitcher Chase Rezac, but the Thunderbirds were unable to get on the scoreboard after recording just three hits and leaving seven runners on base.

SLCC BASEBALL: At Rangely, Colo., the No. 7 Bruins (29-5, 20-3) took two games from Colorado Northwestern 3-2 and 9-1.

AJ Carman, Tanner Banks and Dane Fuller combined to get the win in Game 1. With the game tied at 2 in the top of the seventh, Nathan Fishel drove home the go-ahead run to put Salt Lake up 3-2. Braden Anderson was 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. Dalton Gust was 2 for 3 with a double.

The bats came alive in Game 2 as Salt Lake mashed 12 hits. Ruddy Acosta got the win, going five innings allowing two hits. Anderson stayed hot, going 4 for 5 with his second home run of the day. Dominique Taylor was 3 for 4, Palmer Page went 2 for 4 with a home run and Tyson Popoff was 3 for 3 with two doubles.

SUU TENNIS: Southern Utah's women's tennis team moved one step closer to locking up a Summit League tournament bid Thursday when the Thunderbirds notched a 6-1 win over Oakland University in a match played at Indianapolis North Central High School.

The short-handed Thunderbirds — who have played every match this season with just five players — claimed victories in every contested match, losing only at third doubles and sixth singles, where they failed to field competitors.

SUU claimed the doubles point as Alex Ivanova and Olia Tatarchenko got past Grace Keating and Demi Gerogakopoulos 8-1 at the first position while Ksusha Johnson and Lisa Pleskan were 8-6 winners over Brittany Baxter and Caitlin Young at No. 2.

Oakland had a point at the unopposed sixth singles spot but Johnson gave the Thunderbirds a 2-1 lead with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Young at No. 1 singles. Afton Staheli got SUU's second singles point with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Caryn Kimmel at No. 5, then Tatarchenko followed with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Georgakopoulos at No. 3 to clinch the win for the Thunderbirds.

Ivanova made it 5-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Keating at No. 2 and Pleskan finished off the sweep with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Baxter at No. 4.

SUU faces Western Illinois Friday, then meets Oral Roberts and South Dakota State on Saturday. The Thunderbirds clinch a tournament berth with either two more wins or one win and a loss by SDSU.

DIXIE STATE BASKETBALL: Dixie State women's basketball head coach Angela Kristensen announced today the signing of two players for the 2012-13 season, junior college transfer guard Jordan Giles and Arizona high school forward Jaymee Brugman.

Giles, a 5-foot-7 point guard from Rock Springs, Wyo., transfers from Western Wyoming Community College as a two-year starter. In her tenure for the Mustangs, Giles lead the squad to a 47-12 overall record, averaging 12.1 points and 5.3 assists per game. She was named to the NJCAA All-Region IX Team this past year.

Brugman, a 6-foot-1 forward from Phoenix is a four-year letter winner in basketball and two-year letter winner in volleyball at Desert Vista High School. In the state's top division, she averaged 16 points and eight rebounds per contest. This past season, Brugman led the school to a 25-7 record and the quarterfinals of the 5A1 tournament, before falling to the nation's top team ?— St. Mary's. She was named to the All-Arizona Tribune Team.